A sliding nozzle device includes a fixed plate and a sliding plate; holding means for holding the fixed plate and the sliding plate, respectively; a sliding means for sliding the sliding plate; and a pressure loading means for loading pressure between the fixed plate and the sliding plate.
Relating to the above pressure loading means, Patent Document 1 discloses a pressure loading member which has a substantially U-shaped cross section and holds a flange and a lower lateral side of a slide case (slide frame). The flange is projecting from a side of a base frame (upside frame) fixed on a bottom of a molten metal container. A compression spring is placed between an upper end of the pressure loading member and an upper surface of the flange of the base frame, and a rail is laid on an upper surface of a lower end of the pressure loading member. Rollers are attached pivotally to both sides of the slide case, and each of the rollers is supported by the rail. When the roller is moved to a slanted portion of the rail formed at a tail end thereof, pressure between the base frame and the slide case is unloaded. Additionally, to prevent the slide case from accidentally moving to the slanted portion during operation, a stopper is provided between the base frame and a rod-connecting portion of the slide case.
The invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 is designed to reduce heavy muscular work under heat as much as possible by facilitating operations for opening and closing a cover (suspending frame) covering a plate. The invention in Patent Document 2 is a device operable to open and close the cover by power of an opening and closing cylinder which serves to slide a lower plate (sliding plate).